


It's Not All Pretend

by steviecrown



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviecrown/pseuds/steviecrown
Summary: To avoid being set up, Prompto tells his parents that he's already dating someone. Even though he's not. Now he has to either "break up" with this imaginary person, or find someone to take home to pose as his date. Luckily for him, Ignis is willing to be his fake-boyfriend. Not so lucky for him, Prompto has been pining after the man.





	It's Not All Pretend

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be for Day 2 of #PromnisWeek2018 but it got out of hand and was way longer than I intended it to be and took me forever to write.  
> PromnisWeek Day 2: Pining/Fake Relationship to Real relationship

Prompto hung up the phone with an exasperated sigh. He'd just finished talking to his parents, giving them an update on college life. "Yes, Dad, of course I'm going to all my classes. No, Ma, my job isn't overworking me, I'm doing fine. Yes, Ma, I'm eating healthy. No, Dad, I'm not doing drugs." Just the basics. Though, like most parents, his were the type to pry into his personal life, asking if he had met anyone. "I've got plenty of friends," he told them, which he did, but that wasn't what they wanted to hear.

"That's great, honey," his mother said, "but I was wondering if you had a girlfriend, or even a boyfriend, yet."

He had groaned. "Maaaaa. I don't want to talk about this."

"This is where you'll meet people," his mother had urged. "I want to see you get married and give me grand-kids." Not this again. "You know our next door neighbor, Ms. Hewley or something? I was talking to her the other day and she's got a grandson around your age. He goes to a campus that's close to yours. She was showing me pictures of him, and Prompto, he's not that bad looking." Which meant he wasn't entirely good looking, either. "I'm thinking of inviting her and her grandson over for dinner next weekend when you come to visit and maybe you two can hit it off, or whatever."

Oh shit. Prompto felt himself panic. He was not ready to meet Ms. Hewley-or-something's "not that bad looking" grandson, or any other family members of their neighbors for that matter. Maybe if he just told her he was seeing someone, if he just lied a little, she'd get off of his back and leave him alone and drop the subject. "Ma, no, don't do that." Now what would be the best way to tell her? "I'm kind of already seeing someone. I didn't want to tell you and Dad because it's a new thing and I wanted to see how it went first but-"

"Oh! You've met someone? Prompto that's wonderful." His mother yelled for his dad and he heard he say, "Prompto's dating someone". He groaned, pulling the phone away from his ear as she frantically gave her husband the "good news". "Oh, I'm so happy for you. You know what, forget Ms. Hewley and her grandson, bring your... Are you dating a boy or a girl? No, I don't care. Just bring them over for the weekend and you can introduce us."

That was where the conversation had ended. And yeah, that was probably a bad idea. He should not have lied. No, no. He would just have to call her back and tell her that his "date" couldn't make it. But his mother was relentless, she would just reschedule to meet his date another day. Which would be fine, it would give him time to "break up" with his imaginary date, but he knew that his parents would still have questions about the person. They would ask to see pictures, and Prompto didn't want to just pick a random photo of one of his friends or worse, take a picture of a random stranger on the internet. That was just beyond creep level. He'd really dug himself into a hole.

Prompto found himself explaining the situation later that night when he was over at Noct's apartment, playing violent video games and eating too much junk food. "I don't know what to do, man."

Noctis came back from the kitchen, sitting on the floor next to Prompto, holding three full bag of chips and two canned sodas. "Do you want me to go over and be your fake boyfriend? Cause I will," he said, handing Prompto one of the cans and tearing into one of the bags, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

Prompto shook his head, cracking his soda open and taking a sip. "No. Thanks for the offer, but we've been friends for way too long and you've met my parents, they would never believe that we were dating."

Noct shrugged, pressing a button to unpause the game. "I could be pretty convincing." He leaned towards Prompto with his lips pursed.

Prompto screamed, and started laughing as he pushed Noct away. "Dude, stop!"

Noctis laughed with him and pulled back, keeping his eyes on the game as he said, "No, but seriously, I'd be fine with it."

"I know," Prompto sighed, and he didn't doubt that Noct wouldn't be. And he appreciated that Noct would be willing to be his pretend boyfriend for a weekend, but they wouldn't be able to pull it off, and he told Noctis just that. "Ma would corner me in the other room and knock the truth out of me. And I don't know what's worse, lying to her or admitting that I lied to her."

"Fair enough." Noctis cursed as his character in the game fell and 'You Died' crossed the screen. He took another handful of chips from the bag and crammed them into his mouth. "So what are you gonna do?"

Prompto shook his head. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

 

It's on a Thursday afternoon when Prompto's realizes that he's only got two days to figure out what he's going to do before he drives to his parents' house for the weekend. He's sitting in a diner with Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis, pouring an excessive amount of ketchup onto his fries, thinking of the best way he could transfer to a different school and change his name so that he wouldn't have to face his mom and dad. He should have just called his mother back and told her that it was a lie, that he wasn't dating anyone, but she had sounded so happy. And Prompto couldn't remember the last time he had heard her voice sound like that.

His thoughts are interrupted by Gladio poking him in the face with one of his huge fingers. He scowls and swats at his friend's hand. "Cut it out, man." "Oh, look at that, he's awake. I've been trying to get your attention for the last two minutes. Where have you been?" Gladio teased.

"Sorry," he says, feeling his face heat up. "Just thinking." He looks down at the fries on his plate and sighs at the image. He'd been so lost in thought and now there was more ketchup than fries and it was going to be disgusting.

Noctis is sitting next to him and he's looking at Prompto with concern. "Are you thinking about your mom and dad again?" he asks, pushing his own plate of fries to the middle between him and Prompto. Prompto shrugged and nodded at the same time, mumbling his thanks as he took some fries off of Noct's plate.

Gladio's face went from shit-eating-grin to serious in a matter of seconds. Ignis looked up from his phone, setting the device down on the table. Prompto knows that both of them are thinking of the worst-case scenarios. "What's the matter with your mom and dad?" Gladio asks.

"Nothing-" Prompto starts.

And Noct interrupts with, "Prompto told them that he's dating and now they want to meet whoever it is."

"But you're not," Ignis concludes.

Prompto nodded. "Yeah, and I don't want to disappoint her, because she was so happy when I told her, but I hate that I lied to her and..."

"Dude, I told you that I would be your fake boyfriend," Noctis says around a mouthful of his food, which makes Ignis sigh and Gladio roll his eyes.

"And I told you that there's no way my parents would believe that we're dating. Thank you for the offer, Noct. I'm glad that you have my back, but I'm just going to have to call Ma and tell her that I made the whole thing up and probably have to sit with Ms. Hewley and her grandson." Prompto shuddered at the thought. It wasn't that he thought Ms. Hewley's grandson was horrible, he couldn't judge because he hadn't met the guy. He just didn't want to sit at awkwardly and make nice while his parents (and probably Ms. Hewley) planned their wedding.

"Hell, I'll be your fake boyfriend," Gladio said, shrugging his shoulders.

Prompto rolled his eyes. "No offense, but they wouldn't believe I'm dating you either."

"Yeah, Gladio," Noct teased, grinning, "you're like the embodiment of 'I hired this person to be my date'."

Gladio reached over the table to flick Noctis in the head. Noctis shoved at his hand and threw a fry at him, which Gladio retaliated with by tossing a piece of lettuce that landed on Noct's plate. The face that Noctis made sendt Gladio into a fit of laughter. "Dude, not cool."

Before a full-on food fight could start, Ignis spoke up, "What would you say if I offered?"

Prompto choked on his drink. He stuttered and tried to come up with an excuse, a reason to turn the man down, but he couldn't think of anything. Honestly, fake dating Ignis would perfect, and he doesn't just say that because he's been crushing on the man for two years now. But he's not about to tell Ignis that. "Y-you don't have to, Ignis. Really, I'll just explain to Ma why I made it up. She'll understand." He actually wasn't sure if she would, but he still felt the need to say it out loud, as if to assure himself that everything would be okay.

"It's no trouble. Unless you're not comfortable, then just say so and I'll back off."

"No!" Prompto nearly shouts, then quickly adds, "It's not that, it's just..." And he can't think of anything. He looked to Gladio, but he wasn't much help as he wasn't even paying attention to their conversation anymore and had started texting. He shared a look with Noctis, because Noct knows. Prompto has spent hours texting him at night, pining over Ignis and how he's got it bad for the man. But he can't tell Ignis that he can't be his pretend boyfriend because it would make Prompto feel like he were taking advantage of him, not without admitting how he feels at least. So he shifts his eyes back to Ignis and asks, "You really wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all."

And that's it. Prompto is going to die because Ignis agreed to date him. Well, fake-date him. Oh, he was so screwed.

* * *

 

Prompto picks Ignis up from his apartment around noon. It's going to be about a two and half hour drive to get to his parents' house, and that's not counting traffic or pit-stops. He's a little anxious and he's not sure if it's because he's nervous that his ma and dad will be able to see through him, or if it's the thought that he's about to be in close proximity and alone with Ignis. Last night he had stayed awake until almost three in the morning texting Noctis, furiously thinking of ways that everything could go wrong. Noct hadn't been very helpful at all. He had comforted his friend, assuring him that everything would fine, while also teasing him at the same time about how intimate he'd get to be with Ignis.

And Prompto hadn't really given full thought into that. His parents would expect them to be, well, not in love, but at least familiar with each other. It would be too suspicious if he and Ignis didn't kiss or holds hands or distanced themselves from the other. His ma would think that there was something wrong with their relationship, that they were fighting or weren't that close, and call freakin' Ms. Hewley to invite her grandson over. Or she would corner him in the other room and lecture him about how important relationships were. Prompto really needed this weekend to go smoothly.

So far it's not going very good. They're both sitting in the car with awkward silence. Ignis is staring straight ahead, watching the road and traffic in front of them. Prompto's fingers itch to turn the car radio on, for some background noise, but feels that it would be rude and possibly make things even more awkward between them. He focuses on driving, on not crashing. His whole body tense as he gripped the steering wheel. And it isn't until after almost an hour of riding in complete silence that Ignis suggests that he take a break and asks him to pull into a nearby gas station.

They get out and stretch their legs and Ignis disappears into the station. Meanwhile, Prompto's pulled out his phone to check his messages. He's got quite a few from his mother, one telling him to be careful on the road and the others are about how excited she is to meet his date. He texts her back that he's on his way and that it may take him a while to get there because traffic is horrible. She immediately sends him a message full of smiley's, followed by a string of hearts and kissy faces. Prompto groaned, teaching her emojis was probably the biggest mistake he'd ever made. He taps back to check his other messages. There's one from Gladio wishing him luck and another from Noct that asks, How's it going?, with a row of winking emojis. He sends a thank you to Gladio, while contemplating whether or not he should reply to Noct's text with a row of middle finger emojis.

He doesn't get a chance to decide because Ignis is walking out, holding two donuts and two bottles of water, handing one of each to Prompto. Prompto pockets his phone and takes the offered food.

"Thanks." He bites into the snack and moans. "Oh em gee, these are the best donuts I've ever had!"

Ignis laughs, leaning against the hood of the car. And Prompto wishes that he hadn't put his camera in the trunk because he wants to take a picture, but it's kinda nice just relaxing against the car as they eat their snack. They dispose of the napkins and bottles when they're done, getting back into the car and continuing on the road.

They're about ten minutes back onto the road when Ignis asks, "So what's our story?"

It startles Prompto a bit because up until now, the ride had been silent. Awkward. Not that he's complaining, though. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm sure your parents are going to ask how we met or when we started dating. What do we tell them?"

Shit. Prompto hadn't thought about that. He thinks, tries to come up with something witty and clever, but he can't think of anything that doesn't sound too cheesy. "Tell the truth?" he suggests. "Noct introduced us. We'd been friends for a couple years until we eventually went out on a date. I told them that it was a new relationship, so hopefully they won't expect too much from us."

Ignis nodded. "Sounds reasonable. What about limitations? Is there anything you're not comfortable with?"

Oh Prompto would be comfortable with Ignis doing anything to him. He realizes that he's blushing when he checks his mirrors to change lanes, and, shut up brain, that's dirty. Ignis doesn't notice, though, he's turned around and looking out the back window checking traffic and telling Prompto that he's good. It takes him a minute to compose himself because he's totally not imagining Ignis saying those words to him all the time and in different ways. No, shut up brain. "Um, I'm pretty much okay with anything, just maybe nothing too intimate." Great, now he's blushing again.

* * *

He pulls into his parents' driveway and hides a grimace with a smile when he sees his mother sitting on the porch swing waving at him. Prompto waves back and puts the car in park and turning the engine off and popping the trunk. No turning back now, he thinks as he exits the car. He's walking to the trunk, thinking that it would be a good place to hide and live for the rest of his life, when his ma runs up to him and wraps her arms around him and death squeezing hug.

"Ah, Ma, too tight," he chokes, hugging her back. She loosens her grip and pulls back, touching his hair and face and arms before they stop on his sides. "Ma!"

"You look so thin, honey. You told me you were eating right. Here, let's get you inside and I'll start fixing you some food." She wraps one arm around his back and holds onto his hand with the other, trying to push him towards the house.

"Ma, I'm fine. I..." He stops and puts all his weight down onto his feet, and his mother isn't really a big woman, so it isn't hard to fight against her. He looks over at Ignis lifting their bags out of the trunk. Sorry Ignis. "I'd like you to meet my boyfriend." His mother stops trying to push and pull at him and looks over at Ignis. Her eyes fill with interest and Prompto can see the wheels turning in her head and thinks, _oh no_ , but it's too late now. "Ma, this is my boyfriend, Ignis."

His mother lets go of him and walks over to Ignis. Ignis puts the bags down on the pavement and holds out his right hand. "It's nice to meet you."

And Prompto cringes when his ma shakes her head and pulls Ignis in for a tight hug. He sees the breath leave Ignis and mouths "sorry" to him as his mother pulls the man down. And it's almost comical watching his mother, who's barely five-feet tall, pull Ignis down to a level where she can easily wrap her arms around his neck. She says something to Ignis that Prompto can't hear, but Ignis laughs and straightens.

His mother starts examining Ignis the same way she had been doing to him just moments before and before he can protest, she says, "Oh, you forgot to mention how handsome he is." Her hands move to Ignis's chest. "Oooh, and so firm."

"MA!" he scolds. He feels his face get hot and it must turn red because his mother notices and is at his side.

"Honey, are you sure you're alright? Here, let's get you inside." And she back to manhandling him and he lets her because it's better than her groping his pretend boyfriend.

Prompto looks back at Ignis carrying their bags to the house, still grinning. He's going to have to write down a list of apologies before the weekend is over.

When they get into the house, his ma has him sit down at the kitchen table as she starts making a sandwich for him. He looks back at Ignis being greeted by his father taking the bags and taking them to Prompto's room. His mother sets the finished sandwich in front of him and puts it on a plate in front of him, vacating the chair next to him. Ignis sits across from him. Prompto looks into the living room for his father, but the man is nowhere to be found.

"Where did dad go?" he asks his mother, who's anxiously waiting for him to start eating. He picks up the sandwich and takes a bite, watching her shoulders sag a little. "Oh, your father got himself a new toy and he's been spending all of his time in that garage."

"Dad got a motorcycle?" he asks, eyes wide and he starts to sit up because he's excited and wants to run to the garage.

His mother gives him that look and pushes on his shoulder for him to sit back down. "No, your father did not get a motorcycle and he won't ever be getting one, so don't you think about getting one either." She takes a deep breath. "He got a new projector, but he doesn't even know how to work the thing, and he just sits in that garage avoiding me."

"Ma, I'm sure he's not avoiding you. Dad's just not very tech savvy. I should probably see if I can help him figure it out." He starts to stand up but his mother pushes him back in his seat again.

"You can help your father after you finish eating." And Prompto knows that she means it, that she won't let him leave the table until there are only crumbs on his plate. "So," she says, smiling and looking between Prompto and Ignis, "how long have you two been dating?" Prompto groans around his sandwich.

"Ma, can't you wait til after dinner and when dad's here before you start the Q and A?"

"No, it's your father's own fault that he chooses to spend his time in the garage," she grumbles. And that makes Prompto pause because she's really angry with him, but she's not letting his dad know that she's mad, and Prompto is going to have to fix this before they get into a fight about something minor. "Now, tell me. How long have two been together?"

They talked about this. Prompto knows that they did. They'd come up with a plan in the car on the drive here, but now he can't fucking remember what that was. He's looking at Ignis for help as he tries to swallow the last chunk of his sandwich that he'd stuffed into his mouth, trying not to choke. Ignis reaches across the table for his hand. Prompto's not sure if it's for comfort because he's struggling, or if he's just trying to be a sweet fake-boyfriend.

"We met a couple years ago, but we just started dating about, what," he looks to Prompto, "a month and a half ago?"

Prompto nods and speaks after he's managed not to suffocate. "Y-yeah, that sounds about right." He squeezes Ignis's hand and, gah, he really wishes that his palms weren't sweaty. It's ruining the moment for him.

"Well what took you two so long?" his mother teases.

Ignis chuckles and looks straight into Prompto's eyes. "I guess I didn't realize that I could have had a good thing going on right in front of me." And the way he's looking at Prompto, how those eyes look like their seeing into his soul, it makes Prompto want to melt into the floor beneath him. "Also, no offense Mrs. Argentum, your son isn't exactly the best at giving subtle hints." He lifts Prompto's hand to kiss his knuckles.

His mother watches the two fondly. "Prompto was always a shy kid," she says with a sigh. "Always so socially awkward."

"I'm right here," Prompto grumbles and his mother laughs.

"Oh honey, you know that I love you." She ruffles his hair and he lets go of Ignis's hand to push his mother's hand away. She responds by pulling him in for a tight hug and kisses the back of his head. "Go help your father with that darn contraption, I'm going to get dinner started."

Ignis stands up and pushes his chair in. "Let me help you."

Ma has that smug grin on her face. She takes Prompto's arm when he tries to escape to the garage and pulls him in close and says, "I like him. You better keep him," loud enough for Ignis to hear. Prompto blushes, retreating at the sound of his mother's laughter.

He calms himself by the time he makes it to the garage. He enters to find his dad staring down at the projector with a scowl, like it had offended him. "Uh, hi Dad. Ma said you might need some help."

His dad sighs. "They just don't make technology like they used to when I was younger. It used to just be that you had to connect a wire to one end and then another and that was it. Now it's all, press this button to get to this button to connect to this to press this. Ugghhh." The man groans and falls back onto an old couch they'd stored in the garage some time ago and just never got rid of.

Prompto smiles. He walks over to where the projector is sitting on a stand. "Let me see if I can figure it out." And he knows that he can, that it will only take maybe five minutes to see how it works. He takes his time with it, though, pressing the wrong buttons on purpose. His dad is lamenting about stupid buttons, cursing all new technology. "Dad, why did you buy this if you knew it'd be hard to work with?"

"I bought if for your mother," his dad says and Prompto's not sure he understands. "You know how the movie theater in town closed last year? Well, your mother's been complaining that she doesn't get to do anything fun now."

"Doesn't she go out with friends every Wednesday for brunch?"

"She's getting tired of them, says it's not the same between them as it used to be," his father explains. "She loves watching movies. Yeah, we got the TV in the living room, but it just doesn't have that same effect. Movie theaters were always her favorite places to go. It was where we went on our first date and, I don't know, I just thought it would be nice if I could play movies out here for her and it could be like when we were dating again."

Prompto wants to scream because that is the cutest thing ever. He stops playing around and gets the projector on the setting it needs to be on. "Okay, I think I got it," he says. "Where's your movie?" His dad hands him a DVD and Prompto recognizes it. "Dad, isn't this movie you guys went to see on your date?" The man shrugs nonchalantly, which means yes, and he's trying to control the smile on his face. "That's cute."

His dad bashfully looks away, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, did you," he starts, changing the subject, "did you leave your friend alone in the kitchen with your mother?"

Oh yeah. "Boyfriend," Prompto tries to say casually, like it's no big deal, like it doesn't make his heart skyrocket at thought. "It's fine, though. They're probably exchanging recipes and bonding as we speak." Yeah, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave Ignis alone with his mother. Who knows what they were talking about? What his mother was telling him? What if she brought out the baby pictures!?

"Buh-boyfriend?" his dad stutters. "Oh crap, was that today?"

"Did you forget?"

"I've been fighting with this thing." The older man glares at the projector as Prompto starts up the movie. "You know you're gonna have to show me how to get it started about fifty times before I get it right, don't you?"

Prompto nodded. "I know. It's not that hard, Dad, it's just a lot of button pushing."

"Buttons," his dad groans.

They leave the garage to check on dinner, and to see what kind of trouble the two in the kitchen may be causing, let's be honest. Prompto is relieved that the conversation he walks in on them having isn't about him. Ignis smiles at him when he enters the room and it's such a nice smile, but there's mischief behind it, Prompto's sure. Which makes him wonder what his mother might have told him and he starts to panic.

"Prompto, Ignis is such a wonderful man, I can't believe you haven't brought him over sooner. He's such a big help."

"Ma, I told you, we just started dating."

"Yes, but you've known each other longer, honey. Are there any other friends you've been keeping from me?"

"Oh, we have a whole group of interesting friends. You have to meet Gladio," Ignis says. "Very big man, could probably bench press all of your furniture."

"No, Iggy, don't give her ideas," Prompto groans into his hands. His mother sighs, shaking her head and turning to her husband. "You know your son has been delaying on dating this man for two years. I would have jumped on that as soon as I got the chance."

"MA!" Prompto scolds. He looks up to find her checking out Ignis's ass when he's chopping fruit. "Ma, please stop." His mother gives him a look, and nods at his pretend boyfriend's butt. Ignis either doesn't notice or is just too polite to say anything. "Daaaaad," he whines.

"Mabel, stop. You're embarrassing the boy," his father says. Prompto can't see his mother's face, but he knows that she's rolling her eyes.

"Would you set the table, Prompto?" she asks. "Dinner's almost ready."

He stands from his seat and walks to the cabinet to pull out the plates and puts them on the table. He goes for the glasses next, walking past his mother, who's side-eyeing him. Prompto ignores her and sets the glasses by the plates. He's contemplating whether or not he should reach for silverware in the drawer next to Ignis. Forks aren't that important, he tells himself. They could just eat the food with their hands, but his mother would yell at him about decent table manners. "'Scuse me," he says and Ignis scoots over so that Prompto can pull the drawer open. He's counting each piece silverware as he picks it up, but he pauses when he gets the feeling that someone is watching him. He looks up and Ignis's eyes meet his. "What?"

Ignis just winks at him, making him drop the spoons back into their slot. He curses, which his mother scolds him for, and scrambles to pick up the spoons again. And then Ignis is leaning forward and kissing him on his forehead. It's just a forehead kiss. It shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it makes Prompto's knees weak and he almost trips when he's walking back to the table and has to sit down. He's thankful when the food is finally brought to the table and they can finally eat, focusing on cramming his mouth full.

"Prompto," his dad says after everyone's taken at least a few bites, "how did you two meet?"

And here come the questions, Prompto thinks. "Noctis introduced us."

"I might just have to thank Noctis next time I see him," his mother says, more to herself than anyone. "Prompto, I'm so happy that you found yourself a decent young man. You must feel so lucky to have him."

"I can assure you that I'm the lucky one," Ignis replies, grinning at Prompto. "Prompto's been a ray of sunshine in my life since the day I met him." He reaches for Prompto's hand and kisses the top of it.

"You two are so cute," Prompto's mother coos. "When's the wedding?"

"Ma," Prompto hisses.

"Fine, fine." She raises her hands. "Am I allowed to ask when you two started having feelings for each other, or is that too personal?"

Prompto freezes and looks over at Ignis because they hadn't discussed this. He's not sure how to respond to his mother because the first time he'd realized how he felt about Ignis is a little too real. He doesn't think that he'd be able to describe it without Ignis remembering and exposing himself. Nope, nope. He's about to tell his Ma that it is too personal when Ignis's voice interuppts his thoughts.

"I can't say for Prompto," he begins, "but for me it was a moment when Prompto was taking pictures. He'd asked me to accompany him one morning to get shots of the sunrise. I'd driven us out to an open field and Prompto ended up befriending three baby deer." Prompto takes in a deep breath and holds it when he recognizes that Ignis is talking about an actual day that happened between them. And he remembers it clear as day and groans at what he knows is coming next. "You remember that, Darling?"

Prompto would have hyperventilated at the nickname if he weren't trying to mentally erase the memory from his mind. "Uhh, don't remind me."

"It was adorable," Ignis assures, running his thumb over Prompto's knuckles. "You thought it was so neat that they were letting you pet them and take their pictures up close." Prompto groans and Ignis laughs. "And then they'd started following you around when you were trying to photograph the sunrise and kept headbutting you so much that you fell in the grass."

"And one of them laid on top of me and wouldn't move." Prompto's covering his face with his free hand. He can hear his parents laughing and Ignis is letting go of his hand to wrap an arm around his shoulder. "You didn't help me until it started chewing on my hair!"

Ignis pulls him close and says, "I was getting some pictures of my own."

Prompto looks up at him. He doesn't remember that part, so he's not sure whether or not Ignis is making it up, but the man's face is so serious. "You did not. Did you really?" Ignis nods and he's smiling and Prompto knows he's telling the truth. "Igggyyyyyyy."

"Oh, I would love to see those," his mother says.

"No," Prompto protests.

"Do you have them on your phone, Ignis?" his dad asks.

Ignis pulls his phone out of his pocket and scrolls through his pictures, turning it around and showing the cursed photos to Prompto's mom and dad. After they've viewed them and awwed at what was probably one of Prompto's most embarassing moments, Ignis shows him the photos. Honestly, if it had been anyone else, Prompto would laugh, and he admits to himself that, yeah, it is cute. But that doesn't stop him from scowling at Ignis.

Ignis leans forward and kisses the tip of Prompto's nose. "I'm sorry, Darling, but these photos hold a precious memory and I can't delete them." Prompto doesn't say anything because now he's freaking out about the kiss and the nickname. He's not even paying attention to what the subject in the conversation changes to. Although it sounds like Ignis is asking his mother for a recipe. And he swears he hears his mother jokingly say that if he and Prompto get married, she'll share all of her recipes with him, though Prompto knows that she isn't joking.

 _Darling_? And the nose kiss? It was too cute. He wished that Ignis would call him that all the time. It melted his insides and made his stomach feel gooey. Darling. Gah, he was going to be stuck on that for the next two weeks. He wants to reach over and put his hands in Ignis's hair and mess it all up and kiss his face all over.

Except, no. He can't do that, because they're not really together. And tomorrow afternoon, this whole charade would be over and he'd be back to lamenting his feelings to Noctis in the middle of the night. Noctis. He winces when he realizes that he left his friend hanging and pulls out his phone after dinner's over and Ignis is helping his parents with the dishes. Noct has sent him ten new messages since he'd last checked his phone. Over half of them are emojis, one including the eggplant. He rolls his eyes and scrolls down.

Noctis: Dude, are you ignoring me or did you die from pining over Ignis?  
Noctis: You didn't actually die, did you?  
Noctis: Prompto????  
Noctis: Okay, I'm seriously starting to worry that you died. Please don't be dead.

That last message was sent about fifteen minutes ago and he quickly types out a reply before Noct can send him anymore.

Prompto: not dead.  
Prompto: things are going fine. my ma officially loves ignis and is already planning our wedding. ha ha

Ha ha, he repeats in his head. It doesn't feel funny to him and Noctis must get that feeling because he texts back, 'Are you okay?' He wants to say that he is, even though he's not, because he hadn't given much thought into this. Yeah, he knew that him and Ignis would be pretending to be a couple, but he hadn't realized how that would affect him. 'i will be', Prompto writes back, because he will be. He's been pining after Ignis for quite some time now. What's one more day?

Noctis: Are you two going to share a bed?

Prompto hadn't thought about that, and he texts Noctis just that. Would his parents even let them sleep in the same room together? He's not about to ask either of them, too embarrassed at the thought. They don't try to protest when it's time for bed and Prompto is leading Ignis to his old bedroom.

His ma does end up pulling him aside, though. "Sometimes you need to try on the shoe before you buy it," she says out of nowhere. Prompto's confused. "The shoe probably looks good and it may give off a good impression, but that doesn't always mean it's a perfect fit. Sometimes the shoe won't support you where you need it most and it won't feel good. Make sure it's a good shoe."

Prompto groans. "Ma, is this a metaphor for sex?"

She shrugs. "Doesn't always have to be about sex. Sometimes it's a good metaphor for other things, too."

Prompto groans again. "Maaaa."

"I'm just saying. You're still going through that honeymoon phase and I know you two haven't done it because you're too cute around each other."

"MA!"

She shrugs again. "Night, honey." His mother makes a quick retreat to the master bedroom.

He groans all the way back to his room, getting louder with each step until he's safe with the door closed. He throws himself onto his bed and screams into his pillow. "Are you alright?" Prompto wants to scream again because he forgot that Ignis was in the room.

"My mother is driving me insane," he says into the pillow.

Ignis laughs. "She's an adorable woman, a little awnry, though."

"You have no idea."

"Oh, believe me, I do. Remember that I got to spend a far amount of time with her while you were hiding in the garage with your father."

Prompto looks up from his pillow and at where Ignis is digging through his duffel bag. "What did you two even talk about?"

Ignis runs his thumb and pointer finger across his lips in a zipping motion. "That's between me and her." He pulls out a pair of pajamas and sets his bag down on the floor. "If you don't mind, I'm going to use your shower real quick."

"No, go ahead." Prompto sits up when Ignis leaves, Noct's previous question dawning at his thoughts. Were they going to share a bed? He couldn't imagine Ignis agreeing to the idea, but what if he did? Oh. What if? It wasn't like Prompto's bed was small, it wasn't huge either, but it would be comfortable for two people to sleep in (if a little crowded). And he started to wonder what kind of sleeper was Ignis. Was he a cuddler? Did he stay in one spot the whole night? Or did he take up all of the room and covers? That last one was definitely Prompto and it worried him a little. Noctis had also said that he would kick in his sleep, as his friend had found out prior to a sleepover. He didn't mean to be a violent sleeper, he just had trouble staying still, even in his sleep.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Noctis, 'dude, idk if i should sleep with ignis. what if i accidentally ruin his beautiful face????'

Noct replies by sending him winking emojis. Prompto types back, 'not that way and you know it!!!!!! what if i kick or end up punching him?? and he hates me forever!!'

It's really not that hard of a desicion to make. He'll just tell Ignis that he can sleep in his room and Prompto will take the couch.

Noctis: He wouldn't hate you.

And Prompto thinks that that's an odd response because it's not teasing and there's no opinion on it. Just, "he wouldn't hate you", like Noct knows something. Prompto starts typing a bunch of question marks, then erases them and tries to write a proper message. He presses the backspace button on that too and settles with, 'what do you mean?' He watches the bubble on his phone appear and disappear multiple times. He types, 'noct????' and hits send just as his bedroom door opens. Prompto looks up at Ignis and, nope, bad idea, should not have done that because Ignis is gorgeous. His hair is damp and pushed back, small strands falling into his face. Prompto doesn't bother to wait for Noct's message, too entranced by the man in front of him.

"So," Prompto starts, because he knows that he's been staring way too long, "I can take the couch if you're not comfortable with sharing the bed."

Ignis lifts an eyebrow. "Are you not comfortable with the idea?" he asks and takes a seat on Prompto's desk chair, leaning back in it. "Because I think it would raise suspicion and maybe a few questions if your mother or father saw we weren't together."

It would. Prompto's ma would ask him if everything was alright between them, if they'd had a fight. She'd talk to him about how couples should never go to bed angry and always say I love you to each other, and he'd have to hold himself back from telling her that they aren't really a couple and end up breaking the poor woman's heart.

"Okay, then." Prompto jumps off of his bed and grabs his pajamas from his own bag. "I'm gonna," he says, backing towards the door, "um, I'm gonna go change real quick. So-- Ow," he mutters when his back hits the doorknob. "Be right back."

Ignis must think he's a weirdo.

Prompto checks his messages, frowning when he notcies that Noctis hasn't written back a reply yet. He texts, 'well, it's happening' and pushes send. He swears it's not even ten seconds later when Noct sends back, 'Good luck'. What the hell? Prompto quickly changes, hitting his elbow on the counter in the process. He brushes his teeth and gives himself a once-over in the mirror before returning to his room.

Ignis is looking at one of the picture frames that Prompto has on his desk and he makes a disgruntled noise when he realizes which one it is. "Ew, I was such a dork." Well, he still is, but this particular picture is the perfect definition of dork. It's a photo of him and his mother at the park. He's about ten-years-old, and he still remembers that day. His ma has her arms wrapped tightly around him, cheeks pressed together. Prompto's face in the photo is squished, hair flopping in his face and his glasses too big.

"You're cute," Ignis says, setting the frame down in it's original spot.

Prompto freezes because Ignis just called him cute. His parents aren't in the room, so he's not sure why Ignis says it. Unless he's calling younger Prompto in the picture cute, yeah, that has to be it.

"She really loves you," Ignis muses, still looking at the photo.

"Y-yeah." Prompto can't think of anything else to say. He knows that his mother loves him, adores him. And sometimes he could be a jerk to her, like the day in the picture; he remembers being annoyed at her that day, but can't recall the reason. Maybe he'd been a bit of a jerk today, too.

Ignis reached out to take his hand, which catches Prompto off guard. "She told me some stories about you when you were a kid." Prompto rolls his eyes. Of course she did, but the story that Ignis brings up is the least of the ones he expects his mother to share. "I heard about the time you rescued a stray off the streets and nursed it back to health."

"I still miss that dog," Prompto mutters. His dad had helped him put up 'Found Dog' fliers and he'd been disappointed when the owner came to claim her pet. "She didn't tell you anything embarrassing, did she?"

"What do you consider embarrassing?" Prompto keeps his mouth shut because he knows that's a trick question. "I'm teasing," Ignis says. "It was all good things."

"Nuh-uh. This is my ma we're talking about it, she told you something."

Ignis grins. "I may have seen a few baby pictures on your refrigerator, but I was the one to bring them up."

Damnit. Prompto forgot about the collage of pictures his ma had on the side of the fridge. He doesn't even dare to ask Ignis which ones he's seen because he has a feeling he knows which ones. And there's at least five that immediatley come to mind, and they're all of him either naked or in nothing but a diaper. Prompto groans and pulls away from Ignis and crawls onto his bed, burying himself under the covers.

He hears Ignis laugh. "They're really not that bad, Prompto. Actually, they're quite adorable."

Prompto's not sure how to respond, because that's the second time Ignis has complimented him. Or at least, pictures of him from when he was a kid. He doesn't know why Ignis would call him cute or adorable now, unless he were making fun of Prompto. His thoughts are interrupted by the bed shifting beside and he peeks out from underneath the blankets to see Ignis sitting next to him. Oh yeah. They're going to be sharing a bed.

He holds his breath as Ignis settles in. A minute or two passes until his chest starts to hurt and he feels lightheaded. _Breathe, you idiot_.

"Are you alright?" Ignis asks, and he looks so concerned that it makes Prompto's heart swell, or maybe that's from him almost choking himself to death. Ignis lifts a hand to Prompto's forehead when he finally lets out a breath, then pulls back almost as soon he's touched Prompto. "If you're not okay with this I can-"

"No! I mean, it's fine." Ignis continues to look at him with concern. "Really, I'm fine with this."

Ignis looks down at him as if he's trying to think of something to say, like he wants to urge Prompto to say more. Instead, he slides under the blankets and curls so there's space between him and Prompto. Prompto wants to close that space, to cuddle against Ignis and breathe in his scent, but he keeps his distance to the point where he's against the wall.

"Goodnight, Prompto."

"N-night."

* * *

 

It turns out that Ignis is a blanket thief. Not that that matters much to Prompto, since he doesn't get that much sleep anyway. It doesn't even have anything to do with Ignis hogging all of the covers. No, it's more to do with the fact that tomorrow afternoon, all of this will be over. And he doesn't want it to be over.

He wakes up to the sound of his ma talking loudly in the kitchen. He grumbles, because he doesn't even remember falling asleep last night. Ignis isn't in the bed next to him and he figures that his pretend boyfriend is the reason why his mother can't seem to keep her voice down. Although, to be fair, it is almost ten in the morning. He had planned to be awake hours ago so that he could leave early and hopefully beat the afternoon traffic. Welp, there goes that idea.

Prompto walks into the kitchen after he's done with his morning routine, greeted with a "There he is," from his mother and a "Mornin', Sleeping Beauty" from his dad. Ignis gives him a warm smile from where he's standing at the stove. His parents are sitting at the kitchen table, both of them are on their phones, typing back and forth. And Prompto knows that they are texting each other, while sitting across from the other, because that's just how dorky his parents are.

"Putting my boyfriend to work?" Prompto asks, and oh how he wishes that were true. That he could call Ignis his boyfriend when they return to campus.

His ma looks up from her phone and smiles. "He offered to make breakfast, honey. Does he cook for you often?"

"Uh, yeah, quite a bit." His mother awes. "But, I mean, it's not just for me. He makes food for Gladio and Noct, too."

"Someone has to make sure you three get a balanced nutrition." Ignis turns to Prompto's ma and adds, "Prompto and our friends have terrible eating habits."

Prompto pouts as he walks past Ignis to raid the fridge for a glass of orange juice. He can feel his mother's eyes on him and looks behind to see that she is staring at him expectantly, almost as if she's waiting for him to do something. He ignores her at first, taking a sip of his juice, but then he realizes what it is she's expecting him to do. And he finds himself wanting to, feels like doing it, so he does. Prompto slides in next to Ignis and wraps his arms around the man, watching him flip pancakes. He leans up on his toes and kisses Ignis on the cheek. He's about to pull away, but Ignis holds onto him, his hand on the back of Prompto's head. Ignis responds by kissing Prompto on the forehead, which makes him melt. He doesn't even care that his mother is cooing and not-so-discreetly whispering to his dad about how cute they are.

"Good morning, Darling," Ignis says and Prompto is gone. He stays by his fake boyfriend's side for the remainder of the time it takes him to finish making breakfast. Ignis doesn't seem to mind, though he eventually does leave Prompto's arms with an, "Excuse me, Dear," and proceeds to put all of the food on plates and deliver them to the table.

 _Darling? Dear?_ Prompto is screaming because their such cute nicknames and he wants to give Ignis a nickname. He can't think of one that isn't too corny, and then realizes that he doesn't need to. He doesn't get a chance to delve further into his thoughts though, because his mother starts being awnry again.

"Prompto, if you don't marry Ignis, you're grounded."

"Maaaa," he groans, taking the seat beside her.

After breakfast, Prompto volunteers to wash the dishes. Ignis volunteers to help him, but Prompto's mother shoos him away. "I'm serious, Prompto," his ma says after Ignis leaves, "you need to marry him." Prompto starts to protests, but the woman lifts her hand to stop him. "You've got a good thing going with him, I can tell. And I can see it in his eyes, he loves you so much. Hold onto him and never let him go."

 _But we're not even dating_ , Prompto thinks, _we're just friends_.

"Maybe after school," he mumbles, and he realizes that he's just dug himself into another hole. That he's going to have to end up breaking his mother's heart anyway when he tells her that him and Ignis "broke up". She gives him a smile filled with so much hope that it makes Prompto sick to his stomach.

Shit.

* * *

 

They're having a hard time leaving because Prompto's mother won't stop hugging both Prompto and Ignis. Prompto has to beg his dad to make her stop after they've been standing in the driveway for almost a half hour.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," his ma says, placing her hands behind her back as if to prove a point. "Drive safe, honey. Call me when you get back."

"I will, Ma."

"Ignis, you'll remember what I told you?" she asks.

Ignis nods, "Of course." When they're both in the car, Prompto asks, "What did she tell you?"

"I told you," Ignis says, "that's between me and her."

Prompto rolls his eyes. He's sure that it has something to do with him, but he doesn't care right now. He just wants to focus on trying to stay awake at the wheel right now. He'd taken a to-go cup of coffee in hopes that it would help him stay alert, but he just feels sleepy. And it must show because Ignis offers to take over. Prompto turns him down at first, but he's an hour on the road and he feels himself dozing. He pulls into a fast food parking lot and has Ignis take the wheel from there.

It feels so nice being able to just relax. Prompto likes being able sit in the passenger seat and stare out of the window endlessly. Ignis drives so smoothly, avoiding all of the bumps and braking easily. Prompto always feels like the car is going to fall out from underneath him, but Ignis looks so nice in the driver's seat. He's even driving with one hand, which is somehow the sexiest thing Prompto has ever witnessed, while the other rests on the console between them. Prompto has the urge to hold Ignis's hand, but they don't have an audience so there's no need to put on an act.

Ignis must somehow be able to read his thoughts, Prompto thinks, because he holds his free hand with his palm out for Prompto to take it. And it's not like Prompto's gonna hesitate in holding this man's hand. Sure, he's confused as to why Ignis would want to hold hands, but he doesn't want to try to justify it. He doesn't even realize that he's fallen asleep until Ignis is waking him up sometime later. He blinks and sits up in his seat, yawning, stretching, and ow that hurt. Sleeping in the car, zero out of ten, do not recommend.

"When did I fall asleep?" Prompto asks.

"Shortly after I took over," Ignis responds. "You know that you could have asked me to drive sooner, Prompto." Prompto doesn't say anything. "Noct and Gladio want us to meet up with them later. Apparently they want, as Gladio says, 'the deets'."

Prompto snorts. They're still holding hands and he's not sure what to think of that, but he doesn't want it to stop. "We could always ignore them, however," Ignis suggests, and Prompto's not sure what he means by that. "I'd like to take you on a date, Prompto," he elaborates.

The blond blinks. "W-what?" Is this really happening? No, he must be dreaming. Yup, that's it. He's still asleep and this is a dream.

"You can say no."

"N-no. I mean," Prompto stutters. Holy shit, this is actually happening. "Yes. Yes, I'd love to. I'm just a little confused. Why?"

"Why do I want to go out with you?" Ignis shrugs. "To be honest, I feel bad that I got you into bed without a proper first date." Prompto rolls his eyes when the older man starts laughing and lets go of his hand to shove at him. "No, actually, I like you, Prompto."

"R-really?"

Ignis nods. "Really. I've liked you for some time now, and, actually, I've known that you've felt the same way." Prompto feels his heart pounding hard in his chest. "Noct isn't as subtle as he likes to think he is," Ignis admits with a sheepish smile, "and Gladio is really loud."

Damnit Noct.

Damnit Gladio.

"You know what," Prompto says, leaning forward in his seat towards Ignis, "let's ditch them."

Ignis laughs. "Where would you like to go?"

"Don't care. But first, I've gotta get ready for my hot date tonight." Prompto grins, and doesn't hesitate to press his lips against Ignis's. "I have been wanting to do that all weekend."

"And I've been waiting for you all weekend," Ignis replies and pulls Prompto back in for another kiss.

* * *

 

Noct groans for like, the fifth time. "You two are disgusting." They're at the diner together. Prompto and Ignis are sitting beside each other in a booth, pressed in close and sharing a milkshake and a plate of fries. Ignis has his arm around Prompto's waist and Prompto's taking selfies of them together on his phone. "Absolutely gross."

Their friends had been really happy when the two announced that they were dating. Gladio shouting, "Fucking finally," and causing quite a few heads to turn their way. Noct had been happy for the two, telling Prompto that now he didn't have to lie to his parents about his relationship. Prompto had been relieved at that, seeing no reason as to why his ma and dad needed to know that what went on was nothing more than an act. 

Now, however, it had been two weeks since Ignis and Prompto became a real couple, and it was driving Gladio and Noctis crazy. It wasn't like they were making goo-goo eyes at each other all day, or calling the other ridiculous pet names, but it was the little things. Like when they were having movie night at Noct's apartment, and Prompto would be resting his head on Ignis's shoulder or lap while Ignis played with the blond's hair. Or when Prompto would be sitting particularly close to Ignis when he was showing off his pictures. It sickened Gladio and Noctis that the two were so sweet that it gave them cavities.

"We get that you two are in love, but cut back on the PDA," Gladio teased, "some people are trying to enjoy their lunch."

Prompto pouted at that. "We're not," and stopped because they weren't quite that far in their relationship yet. "Shut up, Gladio."

Gladio responds by laughing rather loudly and Prompto's face turns a deep shade of red.

Ignis threw a fry at Gladio's head, to which Gladio yelled out, "Hey!"

"Quit picking on my boyfriend," Ignis says.

That doesn't help calm Prompto's blush. Because, while Prompto had been calling Ignis his boyfriend in his head, they hadn't actually discussed it. But it makes him happy and his heart swells with pride as leans up to kiss Ignis on the chin. "Boyfriend?" he asks, a smug grin on his face.

And Ignis realizes what he said and stutters, "Oh, um..."

Prompto wants to scream because his boyfriend is so cute. "It's okay," he assures Ignis, giving the man another kiss. Ignis kisses him back and Prompto loves the way his chest feels when he does.

"Okay, since you two are official and everything," Noct says, ruining the moment, "can you stop being disgusting."

"Nope," they both replied.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to give Prompto good parents.


End file.
